The Special Investigation Team that has gone into the allegations made by K.A. Rauf, businessman, in the Kozhikode ice-cream parlour sex-scandal case has not received any clinching evidence to file a charge sheet against any of the accused, including Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty.
The police team, in a 250-page report submitted to the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court here on June 12, said some of the evidence gathered from the large number of witnesses was contradictory and ambiguous.
The “refer report” has been filed after obtaining legal opinion. (“Refer report” in police manual means that there is no sufficient evidence to prosecute the accused.)
The team had earlier submitted a report to the Kerala High Court on January 30. This was returned on May 26, police sources said.
The present report was submitted under Section 173 (report of police officer on completion of investigation) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The High Court had intervened when Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan sought an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case.
The case (crime no.59/2011) was registered at the town police station here following media reports based on a press conference made by Mr. Rauf on January 28, 2011, stating that he and several others had helped Mr. Kunhalikutty, his relative, enter into a conspiracy, influence the victims by offering money, forge documents and destroy and fabricate evidence to escape conviction in the case in 2006.
A first investigation report, naming Mr. Rauf, Mr. Kunhalikutty and several others as accused, was filed before the Magistrate Court here.
Sources said the investigations had focussed on the statements made by Mr. Rauf particularly before the Magistrate Court under Section 164 (recording of confessions and statements) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The investigation team had interrogated nearly 150 people, including Mr. Kunhalikutty; K. Thankappan and K. Narayana Kurup, former judges of the High Court; the former Advocate General M. K. Damodaran; the former State Attorney P.C. Iype; and the former Kozhikode Mayor P. Dasan. Twelve major allegations made by Mr. Rauf were investigated.
The first investigation report said that he and Mr. Kunhalikutty had influenced the prime witnesses by offering huge amounts to withdraw the allegations of sexual abuse on them by Mr. Kunhalikutty. One of the women was bribed Rs. 2.65 lakh and another, Rs. 3 lakh to withdraw the statements.
False affidavits were prepared to help Mr. Kunhalikutty with the support of a lawyer. The accused entered into a criminal conspiracy in a house at Puthiyara to forge the statements, it added.
Some of the allegations raised by Mr. Rauf were serious. But these could not be proved, police sources said.
